The Fourth Drink Instinct
by only-because3
Summary: He was torn between telling her the truth or a lie, because he knew that if the truth wasn't enough, the lie would be easier to live with the next day. BL


Hey everyone! I am considering this day as the first day of summer for myself! And what ebetter way to celebrate summer than reading a story? I made this oneshot for the 150th BL thread fanfic challenge over at fanforum and I hope y'all like it! The story takes place after Brooke broke up with Lucas but before 4x08. Enjoy!

"What are you doing here Lucas?" Out of the corner of her eye she saw him shrug as she twirled the small red straw in her jack and coke. She wasn't in the mood to converse with him, not today. As far as she was concerned they no longer needed to talk to each other. What was the point? They weren't dating, hell they weren't even friends. She was giving him the cold shoulder yet he still preceded to take the stool next to her.

"Last time I checked this wasn't your bar," he replied cooly, the bartender setting a mug of beer down in front of him. He glanced over at her, noticing that she was dressed to kill, as expected. Her hair and make up perfectly done. Instead of wearing the smile she always wore she instead sported a straight lip, a glare to match. She lifted her drink to her lips and let the contents of the glass slide down her throat. He already knew she'd be hitting it hard tonight.

"Oh, Blondie isn't here with you," she asked once she had secured another full glass in her hand. "I know you two have been spending a ton of time together." She hated that she sounded a bitter. She wanted to move on just like Lucas. She wanted to just forget about the stupid broody boy sitting next to her. She figured if she forgot about him then she could forget that she loved him and forget the pain he had caused.

He shook his head as he turned away. "I'm here alone." Truth was, he knew she had been going there a lot recently, Rachel had told him. She came home each night drunk with another guy and when he heard the two of them talking about it in English, he wanted to throw up. So, he came in order to keep an eye on her, make sure she didn't get too wasted and would hopefully leave alone.

After a few hours of watching her from the corner, he realized it wasn't going to happen. She had already begun flirting with some guy at the bar, the number of empty glasses next to her growing at a rapid rate. That was normal for her now though. She had to be drunk in order to flirt. She could never do it when she was sober because she always felt like she was some how betraying Lucas. It also made the sex easier, because by then her vision would be so blurred she could easily pretend it was Lucas.

It wasn't working tonight. She couldn't find him in the crowded bar, but she knew Lucas was still there, she could practically feel his eyes on her. The guy, she vaguely remembered him introducing himself as John, was scooting closer to her, using every excuse in the book to touch her. She was used to boys and men always trying to sneak a grab, maybe 'accidentally' graze her ass as she walked by, but this was getting a little ridiculous.

Before she could open her mouth, his hand was on her thigh, running his chubby fingers up and down it. "So," he started, getting off of the stool and wrapping his other arm around Brooke tightly, "my place or yours?"

She almost gagged as she took his hand off of her thigh. "Not tonight." The guy looked down at her confused and tried to pull her off the stool. "I said not tonight," she said a little more forcefully, hoping the guy would give up and move on to the next drunk girl at the bar.

Instead he just grinned, yanking her off the stool. "Playing hard to get are we?" Lucas appeared out of no where instantly, tapping the guy on his shoulder politely. "Yeah," the guy asked with an annoyed look.

Lucas smiled and glanced at Brooke before focussing his attention on the guy. She kept her eyes on Lucas, not sure as to what he'd do next. But then, she saw his fist clench and then collide with John's jaw. "What the hell?!" John was now on the floor of the bar, holding on to the side of his face.

Lucas rolled his eyes at him before turning back to Brooke, lightly touching her arm. "Are you okay?" She smiled at him gratefully before nodding.

He had been expecting the tap on his shoulder which was why his hand already flew up to protect his face before he finished turning around. The guy was predictable, using the move that Lucas had approached him with. The one thing Lucas hadn't anticipated was the piece of glass that grazed the palm of his hand. "Who the hell do you think you are," John shouted, tossing the broken beer bottle back to the floor where it only shattered even more. He had focussed too much on the pain in his hand, not even seeing the punch to his stomach until he heard Brooke start to scream.

The bar was silent as he hit the ground, everyone now focussing on the fight at hand. He knew the guy was going to go in for another hit, but it never came. When he opened his eyes slowly, only seeing Brooke's face above his. "Lucas?" She sounded scared and he felt her hand on his cheek.

She was starting to think he was going to have a heart attack. His heart was racing and he was breathing really hard. She had done some research on the disease after he had told her about it and remembered that if he fainted it was a bad sign. He opened his eyes wider and began to slowly sit up. "Come on," she whispered into his ear as she helped him get up, "let's get out of here."

She lead him to the door, one of his arms wrapped around his shoulder for support. John was on the other side of the bar being calmed down by some larger dude and Brooke didn't hesitate lifting her middle finger in his direction. By the time they made it to her car, rain had already started to fall. Lucas looked down at his hand, the blood mixing with the rain, and immediately shut his hand, the water stinging his hand.

Brooke opened the door for him before running over to the driver's side and hopping in. They sat in silence for a little bit, Brooke turning the heater on so they could warm up. "Thank you." Her voice was small and he wasn't even sure if he had heard her correctly at first.

He forged a smile and shook his head. "It's no big deal." She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs that it was. He had saved her from that stupid guy and saved her from doing something she would regret in the morning. She wanted to hit him in his head and tell him that that was all she had wanted. She just wanted him to care and swoop in when he needed her.

Instead she kept quiet, glancing over at his hand. "Let me see." He opened his hand slowly, cringing from the lack of pressure. He could tell she was biting her tongue, something she always did when she was thinking. Then, like flicking a switch, her face lit up and she reached into the back seat of her car, grabbing a small first aid kit from her cheer leading bag. She reached inside, first pulling out a hair tie, securing her wet waves into a messy bun. She then reached for the small tube of Neosporin, twisting off the cap and then applying a small amount to his cut.

He breathed in hard and she looked up at him with sympathetic look on her face. "Sorry. I know it stings." She applied a little more so that it covered the whole cut before putting the tube back into the bag. She then took his large hand into her small ones and began blowing softly on the cut. He found it strange how she could so easily go from bitchy and motherly in seconds. The night started with her nearly biting his head off and now, he was sitting in her car as she tended to the cut on his palm.

After a minute, she stopped, bringing one of her hands up and carefully outlining the cut with the tip of her slender finger. "Better," she asked, looking up into his baby blue eyes. She noted that his hair was getting on the longer side again and that he had a little bit of blood on the shirt he was wearing. The shirt, not that she remembered, had been a gift from her. It wasn't anything special, just a simple T-shirt but it matched his eyes so perfectly that she would have been crazy to pass it by.

"Yeah," he said softly, smiling a little bigger now. "Thank you." She nodded before reaching back into the bag that resided in her lap for a Band-Aid.

She cleared her throat as she began to unwrap the Band-Aid. "What are you doing here Lucas?" Instead of coming off rude like she had before, she sounded calm, like she actually wanted to know why. He was torn between telling her the truth or a lie, because he knew that if the truth wasn't enough, the lie would be easier to live with the next day.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay." She placed the Band-Aid over the cut, already reaching for another. Once she had placed that one on as well, she lifted her head up to look at him again.

"I'm not you're problem anymore Lucas." She casually threw the first aid kit into the back before settling into her seat.

"Is that what you think you are to me? A problem?" She tried to keep her eyes straight forward, her hands securely place on the steering wheel. "I came because I wanted to make sure you were okay. I didn't like the fact that you were going out and begin with other guys." She turned to look at him and he lifted his newly bandaged hand and placed it atop of one of hers. "I came because I still care about you and I know you're better than doing this Brooke."

She stayed silent. She didn't talk as she pulled out of the parking lot and she didn't talk when she drove towards his house. She didn't talk when she turned off the car, parking her blue bug in front of his mother's house. He didn't expect her to say anything else because he knew that he had gone past her comfort zone. He opened the car door, mumbling a 'thank you' when he felt her hand on his arm. He turned back around to be met with her lips on his.

For a moment he stopped, completely froze. Before she could pull away he responded, his hand leaving the door and going up to cup her cheek. Her hand was on the back of his neck, pressing him further into her. When they pulled apart she rested her forehead against his, her hand dropping down and moving back into her lap.

She opened her eyes to find his blue ones looking straight at her and a small dimpled smile appeared on her lips. She leaned forward again, capturing his lips once more, dragging his bottom lip out slightly with her teeth. Her lips lingered there for a moment long and he thought she might go in for another kiss but she didn't. Instead she pulled away completely. "Bye Boyfriend."


End file.
